


Work in Progress

by Alice_Snake, Snowy818



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Sburb Session, Crossdressing, Guardiancest, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Roleplay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-03-09 14:38:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13483581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alice_Snake/pseuds/Alice_Snake, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snowy818/pseuds/Snowy818
Summary: In a world where SBURB was never played, Dave Strider finds himself face to face with a stranger in his room in the middle of the freaking night with an uncanny resemblance to his own brother. If his brother was 16 years old and not on the precipice of 30 something. This guy called "Dirk" claims he's from the future?What the hell is going on?





	1. Chapter 1

Dave Strider was fast asleep in his bed, having been worn out from that days strife with his bro, he's currently just in a pair of worn out sleep pants with no shirt, his muscles are well tone from years of training. a large dark purple bruise on his right side his shades laying on his night stand.

  


Dirk Strider stared at the computer late at night as he updated some coding for his  AI, or at least he was. Without any prior warning a bright light seemed to flash from nowhere and blinded his for a minute before his back hit the floor and he wheezed as the air was knocked out of him.  
  
" Ow" was all he managed to udder out.  
  
The blonde tilted his head up and looked at an ceiling he'd never seen before. He was pretty damn sure, you tend to recognize a ceiling after spending 15 years under it. He tilted his head to the right and looked around. That was a bed.

 

And that was definitely NOT his bed. And that person in the bed bed was... well he had no idea who. Where was he?  


 

Dave woke up from the sound of someone talking, he sat up fast to make sure his bro wasn't setting a trap up for him, but now that he thinks of it, his bro wouldn't make a sound if he was in Dave's room, he flinches some in pain as his side sends him a sharp pain from the quick movement.  
  
He wipes the hair out of his face and checks the clock, it's too early in the morning for this, he looks over at what looks like his bro but much shorter and with a baby face to him, he stares at the guy with a straight calm face but his crimson red eyes are filled with confusion.

  


" sup...?" Dirk slowly sat up and stared blankly at the blonde guy in the bed who had an uncanny resemblance to his brother. Minus the shades,Which he'd never seen his actual brother without. Because you can't meet a brother that's already dead. He felt like facepalming himself a bit.  
  
He stood up and scoped out the whole room, seemed pretty simple, seemed like this guy was going for some kinda DJ thing or other. Understandable. But... " Hey your name doesn't happen to be Dave does it?" He hoped not. Or maybe that would be a good thing. Who knew " where am I?". Was that too many questions? He felt he might be throwing a lot at some guy who looks as if he had just woken up from his rem cycle.

  


The confusion doesn't leave Dave's eyes, the shorter version of his brother worried him a bit, one he knew his name, two even though he knows it, it doesn't seem like he knows where he is.  
  
Usually in a situation where it could be dangerous he's already be up with his shades on fighting the threat, but he just woke up his mind having a fog over it that's yet to clear, and the bruise on his side making movement limited, he thought he might as well tell him "yeah, my name is Dave and you're in my bedroom" simple answer to a simple question.

 

Dave wonders for a minute if this isn't just a trap made by his bro to get him to put his guard down, he reaches over and grabs his totally ironic shades off his nightstand table and puts them on his face, he knows his eyes give away a lot more than they should so it's probably for the best he has them on.

  


Dirk hummed as he took a step forward studying the other intently. He wondered if there was an explanation for why this Dave guy seemed so much like his brother. He supposed that could wait.  
  
" That's funny cause just a second ago I was in my bedroom" He squinted at the other in the dark, lifting up his own shades to get a better look. " Looking at your room though it seems that it most likely wasn't your doing since you don't look like a wizard or a mad scientist of some sort. Unless I started hallucinating from lack of sleep but that would mean there's would have to be floating ponies." Wow he just said that, faintly and glanced at a sword on the ground, not the oddest thing in the room.

  


Dave keeps a calm face trying his best to think over the situation which was kinda laughable if he thought to much about it, this guy had the same stupid shades as his brother, so something got to be up with this and he swear to god if this guy has a rainbow dash shit tattooed to his ass cheek he's done.

  
      " dude if I was a wizard would I really spend that magic making you appear here?" He follows the looks of the other guys eyes and sees he's looking at the sword, he's not that worried but he's secretly hoping this doesn't end in a fight.

  


Dirk considered this for a moment and glanced back at Dave " Despite your point being irrefutably valid, why would anyone not want to appearify a Strider?" He crossed his arms and looked for a chair around the room.  
  
" Personally I'd use magic to get a rainbow dash tattoo. Completely unironic" he sat down and turned to the other again. He scratches the back of his head and sighed.

  


Dave takes a deep breath, trying not a lose his cool thinking how did his bro pull this off, he forced a cocky smile on his face, think he'll play his brother's game.  
  
" well you got a point almost everyone wants a strider in their bedroom, but here's the irony, I don't want to wake up with another man staring at me in my sleep" he's hoping this guy can understand how weird this is for himself, he's only in his pants for God's sake.

  


Dirk startled at that, carefull not to show it as he asked inquisitively " So your saying your a Strider?". How is this guy smiling at such a moment like this that seemed to precede the 4th dimension of what was real and what was not. Something wasn't adding up.  
  
" Not to sound like some kinda time traveler but what year is this?" Looking out the window, he felt conflicted on how to actually feel about the lack of ocean outside. It was pretty dark outside though, Dirk wondered if he would be sleeping anytime soon.

  


Dave breaks out laughing, ok his bro has down a lot of stupid shit get him off guard but this a this stupidest, did his bro actually think this was going to work, even him coming in a smuppet costume would be more believable.  
  
" dude this is the stupidest thing you've ever done, don't kick my ass for this, but this makes no sense what so ever bro" he keeps laughing finding this the funnest thing ever no caring about his right side.

 

Dave gets up out of his bed, his laughing finally stopping it, he goes back to more of a neutral expression "Seriously dude, this makes no senses how in the world could you think this would work, and just to answer your question for the sake of what ever game you're playing it's 2011"

  


Dirk looked at Dave and blinked slowly, taken aback at the others reaction. Who was bro? Nothing at this moment made sense, Which seemed to be a common trend recently.  
  
" what? I'm not quite sure I follow but I believe both are personas have created some sort of miscommunication..." the blonde watched the other get up from the bed, the quick changes in the others demeanor a bit jarring. " 2011? That's not... I don't see how this is humorous". He quickly stood up and shuffled quietly towards the door. He was at least seventy-five percent sure this guy was out of it. Even if he did look like his bro. Although the supposed year made too much sense if anything.

  


Dave is taken back a bit, but doesn't let it show on his face, why is he still trying keep this up, unless he actually was time traveling, but this isn't one of John bad movies, maybe his bro is high or something "ok dude unless you still trying to make me put my guard down" the most reason option in Dave's head.  
  
"Or actually believe you time traveled, I'll give you a small run down, you look like a much younger version of my older brother, I call him bro, his name dirk" he takes a deep breath then deeply frowns "dude can we just drop this act it's not it's  not funny anymore and you seem like you're high off something"

  


Dirk stopped in his tracks, his face betraying him and actually showing his surprise. So it wasn't a coincidence, but of all the answers he could think for this, time travel kinda made sense. Dave having an older brother named Dirk? Absolutely zero sense.  
  
" What the fuck."  
  
Dirk was positive if the other grew a second head, he wouldn't be surprised. " I see the humor now... my older brother is Dave and he's dead." Crossing his arms, he frowned.

  


Dave looks very worried, ok now this made less sense what's going to happen next mentors falling from the sky! He takes off his shades and rubs his eyes to make sure the other guy was still there at this point, he blinks, nope still there he puts his shades back on and points at the large purple and black bruise on his side.  
  
" i have a older brother named dirk he's very much alive and he did this to my side yesterday"  he walks over to his computer desk and pulls A random smuppet out from under it " and he has a lot of these little shits and a nightmaric puppet named lil cal.

 

Dave throws the smuppet to the side, he looks back at the other guy " and let me guess since yours was named Dave, you must be dirk" he walks closer to him, seeing if he can get more of a reaction.

  


Dirk caught a glimpse of the others red eyes and wondered why he'd never known that. He felt mildly worried as he winced at the sight of the purple bruise, he'd never met his brother but he was sure your brother wasn't supposed to hurt you like that? Sadly, he stared at the lone smuppet thrown on the floor. And it was well crafted too. " Fair enough, Although Lil Cal doesn't deserve to be thrown under the bus like that".  
  
The blonde watched as the other seemed to take a step closed, tensing a bit, making sure to keep himself on the defensive. " Yea, I'm Dirk and last I remember, it was the 25th century."

  


Dave's face shows high level of confusion, he stood moving closer to him and takes a minute to figure out what the hell was going on, he said the 25th century even if he was a time traveler that wouldn't make a lick of Sense.  
  
" that's not fucking possible..." he takes a moment to regain his cool, he closes his eyes then takes a deep breath and exhale, he opens them back up, the light catching on his eyes giving them a slight glow " dude you have to understand how crazy all of this sounds"

 

Dave moves the hair out of his face again, he's trying his best to keep his cool, but now this is getting more insane, yet it seems a bit believable at this point and that's what's worrying him, because if he isn't his bro and he's from the future or some shit, he's in a world of trouble.

  


Dirk thought for a moment, not really sure to make of everything " yea sounds pretty crazy, my presence here seems like undeniable proof enough don't you think? If it's not, I wouldn't know how to go around and prove dude" he put an emphasis on dude. Dave's body language seemed to convey that he was slightly distressed. He hummed in thought as the light caught on the others eyes, if he could compare them to anything it would probably be rubies. Not that he actually had ever seen any in real life, but he would image that they would look like that.  
  
Dirk sat down on the floor again, intentions of going out the door and seeing for himself where he really was. He pushed up his shades so that they were resting on his head. He felt pretty tired and done right about now.

  


Dave tries to think of what to do, on how to fix this or get this guy back to where he belongs, because either two things are going to happen when his bro finds out this guys here, one: try to help Dave to get him back him or two: say it's Dave's fault he's here and kick his ass. Then Dave realized something, he looks at the guy sitting on the floor, he looks tired but that's to be expected it's 3 am going on 4 am, a sharp pain of guilt stabs him in the heart, if he's feeling like this what's going through the other guy's head, new strange place with a guy that looks like your dead brother, his body relaxes.  
  
"Hey dude, it's pretty late and it's harder to think straight when you're tired." He fakes a soft smile trying to look understanding to see if it help the situation "how about me and you just share the bed, so both of us can get some sleep and figure this out in the morning"

 

Dave looks into the other eyes and notices there orange, his brother never let him see his eyes so this is a new experience, Dave kinda liked the color, it's no red but it's decent color and in this lighting they almost look unreal.

 

Dave blinks realizing he was staring, he did not want to come off as a creep to this guy, he looks at the wall to the right like it was the most interesting thing in the world to him.

  


Dirk tilted his head to the side " Not that it isn't a good idea, but do you always invite strangers to sleep with you?". Although in fact, sleep right right now sounded terrific. He furrowed his eyebrows and thought for a moment. Could someone harm him in his sleep? At this point it didn't seem likely. Glancing at Dave, he noticed that he seems to be staring at him for whatever reason but he seemed to turn away quickly.  
  
" Do I have something on my face?" He pat his face, pretty sure his face seemed perfectly normal. Although chances were if it was this guy's first time seeing his "bro" without shades he kind of knew where he was coming from. He was pretty closed off himself and usually never took off his own shades. He wasn't sure why he had taken them off now in the first place.

  


Dave sighs heavily knowing how badly he fucked up, he doesn't have a clue what the other guy is thinking about about him, he quickly runs over his options and so far is best solution is to be truthful, he looks at the other guy again " no you have nothing on your face" he says in a strain tone although taking in the other guys features, he does look lot like his bro (mostly the hair) but he had a baby like face compared to his brother's, if he was being honest with himself, it's kinda cute seeing his brother like this, but then he quickly reminds himself that's not his brother and pushes that thought to the back of his mind and locks it up.  
  
" and no I don't usually invite strangers into my bed" unless it's a hot chick "but you look tired and I want to go back to sleep and it wouldn't feel right having you sleep on my floor" his features soften out with the tone of his voice.

 

Dave walks back over to his bed, thinks for a moment, he doesn't like this idea but it's probably for the best " although you didn't get any sleep at all unlike me, how about you just take the bed and I'll mess around with my computer" he's trying to be nice and think of the other guy, he doesn't know it it's because he looks like his bro or just normal human decency that he thought with a loss to him.

  


Dirk shrugged, although the other's behavior was odd, he supposed it wasn't it big deal then. He felt as though he was intruding, after it was not his bedroom so... " Hey it's fine, I'm okay with sleeping next to you, besides, it only makes sense since I intrudes on you sleeping. Seeing as I was already awake before this".  
  
Shrugging off his shirt, he sat down on the edge of the bed and looked around "do you have any pj's?" He stared at Dave and hoped his question wasn't too weird to make him uncomfortable. Although maybe the whole situation was a small bit of weird and awkwardness. Almost like one of Jake's movies with the blue aliens. Except it was some sort of version of his brother and not an alien, and it was some sort of weird xeno- that example was terrible Dirk thought.  
  
If he was completely honest with himself, if everything really was how it seemed, he might actually be excited to meet his bro for the first time. Maybe he could ask him about himself tomorrow and maybe find a way to fix everything, if there was even a possibility.

  


Dave takes a deep breath thinking about this sight from a third person perspective and how gay this looks, he looks at the other version if his brother and thinking of one of John's sucky movies, " if I had PJ's would I be sleeping shirtless" speaking of shirtless, why in the hell did he take his shirt off!  To be fair he has to right say anything, but really two shirtless dudes sleeping in the same bed that screams GAY!  
  
Although now really looking at him, he does have a similar muscle mass compared to himself so that's a plus, wait how is that...never mind, mind stop fucking me over you're usually my friend, he quickly looks away from dirk again, he sits next to him and then lays down with his back to him, now trying to show him has no more interest in him.  
  
" good night...dirk" he never thought he'd actually be saying his brother's name like that, there's a first time for everything he guess, he hopes tomorrow isn't going to be as awkward for him, he's praying to that non-existent god for that.

  


" I was asking for the pants but" he shrugged " Whatever I suppose" Dirk nodded to himself as he watched the other lay down, his soft hair seemed to puff up against the pillow. He resisted the slight urge to touch it as he laid down next to Dave, copying the other's movement with his back facing the other. " Good night... Dave". He stared at the wall for a while before turning his head and looking at him for a while. The reality of it all and his presence there seemed to feel heavier now that it seemed a bit quiet. After a minute, he turned back to the wall, sighing heavily.

 

Dirk's mind faintly thought back to the bruise on his side, his brother did that? It still didn't make much sense but from the few broken swords he'd seen on the ground, it seemed like something that happened a lot. This Dave's older brother seemed like a force to be reckoned and he hoped that wouldn't cause that big of a problem tomorrow. Dave probably would let him know what was up tomorrow or something.

  


Dave reaches for his phone and sets his alarm, he knows when his bro wakes up so he sets it to one hour before he gets up, so they'll get about one hour of sleep, he sorta feels bad for he guy behind him, his brother being dead and everything, as much as he wishes his brother was dead sometimes, he doesn't know what if he'd actually killed him, probably fall Into a set of depression being bro the only person he could physically talk to and his friends living out of state.  
  
Dave's muscles tense up a bit as he just pushes those thoughts to the back of his head where he puts every other thought that might cause him trouble.

 

He doesn't bother with the blankets knowing he might not even fall asleep, so he goes with thinking of more of a plan for tomorrow, till his thoughts slowly drift to about the someone next to him, he doesn't seem to be asleep yet, his breathing isn't at that that  point, God he hopes he didn't a light sleeper like himself or else they're never going to get any sleep.

 

Dave flinches a little remembering the bruise on his right side, God damn why did bro have to kick him so hard and sees a stranger shirtless and injured is something he hopes he never has to do again, although it kinda is his fault for not blocking fast enough and sleeping shirtless, he's so happy he wore pants.

  


Dirk listened to the faraway sounds of crows, not sure if that was better than seagulls or worse. The bed seemed to smell faintly of Dave and... apple juice? It was mildly comforting but after staying up for so long, it seemed to be the perfect thing as he closed his eyes and blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice: I didn't give this one a good read through like Last time, busy day, I'm sorry for anything that was spelled wrong or bad grammar now.

There's a loud beeping noise of a alarm clock.   
  
Dave groans loudly tries to cover his head in the pillow "I don't want to get up..." he says in a whining voice as he moves a bit closer to dirk to get away from the alarm clock, his back to right up against dirk's.    
  
Dave freezes as the memories from last night come flowing back to him, he jumps out of bed, grabs his sword in a barrel roll, he's currently running off pure adrenaline his side sending very sharp pains into him, he completely lost his cool right now, his eyes clouded from confusion, he's still not completely mentally awake bit his body seems ready for a fight to the death.

 

Dave slowly puts the sword down, now that whatever flight response that sent him over the edge is gone and now he's calming down, he kicks the sword over to the side " Sorry about that" he takes a deep breath and regains his cool, his eyes having a bright clear look to them, birds are tweeting outside, he feels a thing of guilt  then his right side starts throbbing from the pain, he really needs to keep it easy till that heals up.

  
  


Dirk opened his eyes and turned to the source of the noise. What was-? Oh. He squinted at the other and noticed his fighting stance, he scoffed and smiled slightly. Looking for his glasses, they seemed to be on the floor next to the bed, who knows how they wound up here.    
  
" Yo... You okay man? That seems to hurt." Dirk sat up and scoot over to the edge of the bed. The light helped him really look at the bruise. Which looked worse than it he had been able to see last night but not too serious.

 

" Also... What now?" Dirk took a good look around the room now and puzzled over it, it seemed to say a lot about Dave, Who called down a bit but his hair looked kinda messy after waking up and he didn't doubt his own hair was any neater. Especially with the spikes going on. Ugh.

  
  


Dave blinks a couple times, trying to get everything sorted out in his head, he doesn't want to show weakness mostly to someone who looks actually like his bro, he walks over to the closest pulls out a red long sleeved shirt, he puts it on then finger combed his hair into but right place.    
  
He looks at dirk and sees his messy ass hair, he actually lets out a small light chuckle, adding that to the more baby like face, he kinda looked cute in a weird way " yeah dude I'm fine, and we're going to try to get you back home" speaking of that how did the other version of his bro get here?

 

Dave thinks about all of reasonable possibilities and not some stupid sci-fi level shit this isn't a movie, and he has 45 minutes till his bro wakes up, he has 45 minutes to fix this before he's dead meat.

  
  


Dirk reached for his own shirt that he had previously discarded and put it on as well. Looking up at Dave, he saw the other fix his own hair and laugh and... for some reason he felt his stomach do a weird flip there. Interesting. He picked up his shades and placed them on his face. " Sound like a plan, only problem is that I don't know how I got here myself. This would be way easier if we DID have a wizard" he couldn't help bringing back the wizard thing, it was a good joke. Even the AR agreed.    
  
Dirk glanced at the door and something else came to mind " Hey what about your bro? Should I be hiding? I wouldn't really know how to deal with meeting an alternate version of myself..." He points a thumb at the door for emphasis. Walking over to the computer, he sits down in front of it and turns to Dave, waiting for his response.

  
  


Dave sighs heavily and and rubs his eyes " you NEED a wizard to hide from my bro" seems like this dirk was going for a running gag of wizards existing, might as well go along with it.   
  
" but you might as well try hiding in the closest it might get us some where" he thinks of someone that could help him out with with, someone smart but also super weird, so they could accept this, first person that came to mind was if course jade.

 

Dave walks over to the blonde and his computer, he lends over dirk to get to his computer keyboard, dirks face is right in Dave's stomach, Dave doesn't really care he had a idea, he pulls up pesterchum on his computer and starts trying to jade since she was online.

 

After a minute or two texting of jade, Dave takes a deep breath and exhale, it's her fucking fault he's stuck in this situation " god damn it " he moves away from dirk looks at him, jade said it's take awhile to fix this, he's going to have to come some way to keep him away from his bro or vise versa.

  
  


Dirk raises an eyebrow at the other " Really? In the closet? As much as I'd like to hide from your bro, another few years in there doesn't seem as fun" he ran a hand through his hair. As Dave leaned over him, He glanced the side and felt his face go warm. Why does everything smell like Dave so much? As much as it would be obvious, he can't help but feel a tad bit calmer around him.    
  
Dirk glances back at the computer screen, filled with red and green text, it seems that the source of the problem has been found. Assuming from his face of course, which showed a lot of expression despite the noticeable effort to hide it.    
  
" Well? What's the prognosis?" Dirk crossed his arms and looked up at him them back at the screen, scanning some of the messages. Impressive.

  
  


Dave snaps out of his own thoughts and looks at dirk, he tries to make a worried look on his face, but underneath he's a bit pissed off that this is happening "jade said she made a machine to travel to another dimension instead she thinks it brought you here, for some damn reason it had to be at my house"    
  
He checks the clock, his bro should be getting up any minute now, he has to think of what to do with dirk and fast so far everything he thought of won't work or is too stupid to even try, come on brain work with me here!

  
  


Dirk nodded, " That makes things a bit easier then? That means there is a cause and solution? I could even help, could we visit her?". He tilted his head as he looked back at the other. There was still the question of being found out which he wasn't sure how soon that could happen.   
  
" and to avoid your bro I could..." He pursed his lips " What if... I disguised myself? I tend to be very perceptive but it's slightly plausible. Unless you have any other ideas." He felt pretty lame, usually he could think of better ideas but in the situation where everything was unfamiliar everything became unpredictable. And he disliked not having some control.

 

Bro groaned and rolled over, looking over the edge of his bed, what time was it? Oh he had work in a few minutes, getting up quickly, he slapped his shades on and went to the kitchen. The fridge needed to be restocked but there was still enough pizza from yesterday, good enough. He moved some swords out of the way and grabbed the box.   
  
Heating it up in the microwave, Bro removed it before the timer set off. This was to make sure Dave didn't hear him, as he set the plates down, he pulled out some apple juice and flash stepped in front of Dave's room. Odd, he could have sworn he heard someone else's voice.   
  
Bro knocked " Little man! I'm going to talk a shower and go to work! Better be at the table, eating breakfast when I'm done!" There was that, he placed Lil Cal in front of the door and headed for the shower.

  
  


Dave clenched his jaw, he has a idea but this dirk might not like it as much as his bro might, he runs over to his closest,  pulls out orange stockings, dress shoes, 404 scarlet red, a red skirt and a orange t-shirt.   
  
He's 15 years old his bro don't question a girl being in his bed at this age " dude we need to brush down your hair" he throws him the closes and goes over to grab a brush from his night stand, " I'm so sorry"

 

He honestly does feel really bad about this, mostly the lip stick, although he doesn't really get why, but imaging this version of his brother is making him feel like he has butterflies in his stomach, mostly those stocking, he kinda hopes that he'll agree to wear them.

  
  


Dirk considered his whole life up to this point and how his life could've possibly reached this kind of pinnacle as he  stared at the clothes in his hand and back at Dave... why did he even have these? He shook himself out of his stupor and sighed. " ...Fine..." He took his shirt off... again and the rest of his clothes, leaving himself in his boxers. He'd done weirder, maybe, probably not. Picking up the stockings, he put those on first, then the skirt, and there went the shirt. How'd he agree to this so quickly? He was thinking of some other disguise but, this might work better. Clipping on the shoes, He stood up and looked at Dave as he reached his shades "should I keep these on?" He wasn't sure if he could still hear the shower running.    
  
Dirk saw the brush in the other's hand and gulped, He preferred to do his own hair not only out of preference but because only he could take the wild mane that was his hair. What're ever " make sure to use gel in my hair or else it won't stay".

  
  


Dave looks back at dirk, then blinks at him, his face is completely unreadable right now, he just stares and is very thankful he has his shades because he has no idea what his eyes could say, it feel like someone kicked him in the chest and knocked the wind out of him, this version of his bro looks surprising look in that whole outfit, he feels his face heat up a bit.    
  
He quickly snaps himself out of those thoughts and walks over to him and starts brushing his hair down, it's surprising soft but a bit sticky from one day old hair gel, that kinda makes him a bit sad.

 

He takes off of the other's shades and slides them under his bed, he doesn't know what the fuck got into him there for a minute, be he really doesn't want that to happen again, he continues to brush the other's hair.

  
  


Dirk clears his throat awkwardly at the proximity of the other. He looks down at the ground as his hair is brushed and glances quickly at the other when his shades are removed, pretending not to notice the shade of red on the other's cheeks that seemed to suit him very nicely. The red text on his glasses faded away as they were put under the bed, he felt just a little vulnerable, that disappeared when Dave continued brushing his hair.    
  
" thanks... don't you need to be out of here soon?" Dirk noticed how concentrated Dave looked, how would he pull it off? Sure his frame was very masculine but there was still a few tells, most covered by the clothing, thank god, but his broad shoulders and thin lips were all that remained.

  
  


Dave kept brushing the other's  hair, then uses hair spray to keep it down, is kinda lost in thought about how the whole outfit plus the hair look together, till he hears what the other says " oh shit" he grabs this dirks hand and runs into the kitchen " you know what to do" he starts eating quickly but slows down a little to truly enjoy the apple juice.    
  
He tries to keep himself calm, if this doesn't work he's fucked but it's the only good idea he had that could have worked, although he's kinda regretting it now he has to stop himself from looking that the other in that outfit, he knows it gay as fuck to think he looks nice in it but he does, he forced his mind to keep on the subject of this plan and his bro.

 

He finishes his food quickly, but the apple juice is still being drank slowly, it's a pity he can't have this more often without John making him think it's pis-.... he sits down his drink and contemplates what did he just do to ruin the drink himself, what Gods are so cruel.

  
  


Dirk looked at their locked hand as the they went into the kitchen, at a quick glance, it's kinda messy and there is a Lil Cal in front of the door there. As Dave sits down, he grabs it and ties it's arms around his neck and hang on his back. For the irony. And because he unironically love Lil Cal. Looking at the other eating, he tries to recall what he was supposed to do except act natural? He could do that. Walking up to the other, he sits down next to him and decides to wait. Grabbing a pizza slice and hoping no one noticed. He almost chokes on it while taking a bite because Dave put down his apple juice and his horrified expression was really amusing.

  
  


Dave puts his elbows on his knees and puts his face in his hands "fuck you john" he says in a soft whisper, it's John's fault for bring it up the the first place, he looks at the version of his bro and sees lil cal on him.    
  
He scoots away from him a bit, he never knew why but recently that puppet has been making him feel uneasy and he hates it "dude, put that thing away before my bro comes out" he says in a whisper.

  
  


Bro shuffles through the bathroom door, steam behind him as he dried his hair with a towel. His wet glasses give the appearance that he showered with them, he would never confirm or deny it if anyone asked.    
  
" Hey Dave I have to be gone in 15 minutes but-" Bro looked up and blinked, then frowned. " oh, who's this?" He carefully studied the girl sitting in his kitchen next to his little brother. The blonde hair and orange eyes reminded him of someone but he couldn't put his finger on it. He sat down across them and picked up a slice, raising an eyebrow.

 

Dirk chuckles at Dave and notices how uncomfortable he looks, he quickly puts Lil Cal on his lap under the table. Hiding him. Then hears the door open to look at a clone of him with uncanny resemblance. Except kinda buff. Oh shit.   
  
Dirk glances to the side at Dave, unsure where to go on from there. He hasn't practiced talking and that might give it away he thinks. Staying quiet, he nudges Dave under the table and smiles nervously. Ugh.

  
  


Dave comes up with something  quick " this is Angel, my girlfriend I thought as long as we didn't make any noise last night it would have been fine to let her stay over" he makes fake smile "she lights puppets like you do which surprised me,  I know you too will get along just fine."    
  
The smile he's giving even though he doesn't notice, turns completely genuine, it's a mixture of a kind and loving smile it's the first time bro as seen that smile since Dave was a small kid" plus she look completely beautiful this morning don't you think?, makes a man wonder what she looks like, all dress up for a party" He takes a drink of his apple juice.

  
  


Bro nods at Dave " that's cool little man, I'm just wondering why you never told me. Do I have to give you the talk?" He squinted and hummed with the mention of puppets and turns to address Angel.   
  
" So you like puppets? You should meet Lil Cal then" Bro looks back to where he left him in front of Dave's door and finds it missing. He must have moved him then.

  
  


Dave's smile drops goes back to his usually fake one " bro no lil cal please, I'm begging you here" he tries using a joking tone and takes another sip of his apple juice.    
  
He rolls his eyes behind his shades " and you don't need to give me the talk I've had that sex ed class 8 times bro, it's gotten boring" He sounds irritated now.

  
  


Dirk stretches out his arm to shake hands with bro, saying stuff carefully in a high toned voice " Yea Angel... Angel... Strudel" god dammit good job that was the most creative name ever. Although looking to his side, Dave was smiling. It made his stomach flutter again and he wondered if he was getting sick or something.    
  
If that wasn't something, Dave's compliment makes his face feel warm as hell. Just go with it. He punches Dave's shoulder and bats his eyelashes " Oh you, always charming the shit outta me" he felt he might start sweating any moment as he wrapped his arm around Dave and smiled.

  
  


Dave looks at 'angel' kinda shocked, but then gives a cocky smile " you know it babe it's just that strider charm" he winks at 'his as he wraps his arms around 'her' waist and pulls her closer to where 'she's' practically on his lap, 'she' can feel his heart beating at a slow rhythm and his legs shifting some to make it more comfortable to sit.   
  
He breathes in and out think this isn't so bad, and his bro is being considerate right now too, thank God for that, he pets 'angels' hair trying to get them calm down, he thinks of this from a 3rd person view his face heats up a little, he looks at 'angels' and sees theirs is also red, at least he's not the only one.

  
  


Bro finishes his pizza and gulps down his soda " well nice meeting you, I gotta head to work now. Later Dave, make sure to use protection" he gets up and glances back out of the corner of his eye. Something was still off but whatever. He decided to not get in the way of Dave's hormones. He walked out the door and looked it behind him.

  
Dirk's heart sped up, this... was a very interesting position they were in. Although it seems like Dave's bro bought it... He turned to Dave and hugged Lil Cal close to his chest. 


	3. Chapter 3

While The events in the living room was going on this is happening on Dave's computer:

  


[GG] : hey Davey I think i got it fixed I can seen that other version of your home ^^ 

[GG] : Dave ? 

[GG] : oh well I'll press the button anyway :P 

\-------------10 minutes later---------

[GG] : Dave I messed up....again ;-; 

* * *

 

Something heavy falls onto bro's work table, it looks like dave but obviously older with sharper features compared to the 15 year old and he a red tailcoat suit with black dress pants that looks so nice it might by itself pay for their rent for year and a half, but he had a broken katana throw his chest, and his classic round shades are cracked on the right lens. 

D strider coughs up blood and looks at his surroundings, his mind isn't wrong as well as it normally would, he thinks it might be him going into shock, the blood loss or both bit he knows one damn thing for sure, he's a damn smuppet place of some kind " g-god damn it, this is my little bro's fantasy deathbed not mind" he coughs up more blood, yup it's a mixture of both " I don't want to go out in some D grade Production Studio."

D starts trying to get up, he's trying to ignore the pain shooting through his whole body, everything hurts, surprisingly his chest hurts the least, that or he's went numb to it, he has to get back to little bro, dude is way too young to be left alone by himself, he coughs up more blood.

Bro was pretty sure his day was normal albeit a random girlfriend appeared out of nowhere. Pretty sure it was a guy, but he won't judge what Dave is into. He went to his 'what other people considered weird' job. It paid the bill and he enjoyed doing it.... But when some guy suddenly appears in front of him, who looks like Dave became a celebrity and has a sword in his abdomen like a kebab, THEN is when he can only think of one thing to say. 

" What the fuck" Bro asses the situation calmly, he didn't care who this guy was or where he came from but he needed medical attention ASAP. " Hey Dave the 2nd," real Dave would probably find that funny " I don't think you're in any position to move" he grabbed the other guy calmly to stop him from moving so much and to find a solution to THIS.

D looks at the man and holy shit he's buff, seriously dude could be model if it wasn't for the shot choices in well... everything hair, clothes dorky shad- ....he has the tastes as his little brother, and Dave the 2nd? Was there another da- his thought was cut off with the pain that made his mind go blank when the man touched him, if was anyone else they'd probably scream out in pain but not D. 

After he regained his thoughts some he looked at the guy, he makes a worried face it looks genuine enough "be careful sir, it's pretty bad" his voice is soft and he fought back the some that wanted to come out of him.

Bro looked at the blonde dude currently occupying his desk and bleeding on it, was he being serious? He even said it in a soft voice shit.

" No shit it's pretty bad" Bro scanned the area for an object to use and just reached for his own shirt, quickly removing it and using it to begin stopping the heavy bleeding. He had some knowledge of what to do in a situation like this but, it might even need surgery, 10 whole reasons that was a bad idea. " Do you need an ambulance?".

 

D looks at bro while he was taking his shirt off, he's pretty sure he felt his face heat up some, because damn this guys body looked like it was sculpted by the gods, hot damn it's enough to make any man jealous and women swoon, he suddenly felt self conscience and he hated it. 

D cleans his throat of any extra blood that's caught in it " no that's probably not a good idea, if what you say is true and there's a second Dave, then my presence will cause confusion and i will die before treatment" his voice is calm and logical even though he's bleeding out, " best idea is to clean the wound and then burn the skin close to stop the bleeding, 3rd degree burns is better than bleeding out."

Bro rolled his eyes behind his shades and nodded slightly. " look Mr. Good Looking Celebrity, there might be internal bleeding if you haven't noticed, I can take care of that along with the rest but there's no way to dull the pain" wow that was kinda stupid. He looked at the wound again, tricky as it looked there was some chance but... second Dave? He had said that as a joke but if that was true then... well he'd think about that later.

" I'm going to have to remove the sword and sew a bit to be able to cauterize it" Bro informed the other as he looked at him. He was pretty sure it was the way to go. Grinning on to the hilt of the sword, he waited for confirmation.

D was impressed with this guy, he seems to know a lot about what he's doing, he's feel some respect towards him if he didn't make puppet smut in a shitty workplace " well it's nice to know your not blind because you can obviously tell my strider charm and yes you can pull the sword out, it seems like you have a good understanding of what you are doing."

D takes a deep breath and gets ready for the pain of it all "I can handle whatever you do to me also" he has to return a compliment, or at least to the guy what he has going for him " not to sound homo or anything but you have a great body, I mean perfectly so, you could be a model and I'm sure you are the most good looking man I've ever seen when I'm not looking into a mirror"

D doesn't have a single regrets for what he just said was the plain god honest truth, his face is stone cold and unreadable but that's to be expected from him at this point, although he is starting to feel a bit dizzy, that's not good.

Bro smirked " Hey thank you guy I just met a few minutes ago, if you survive this maybe we can continue flirting?" Hoping to distract him beforehand he gripped the sword and started pulling it out slowly. Once it was gone, he'd have to move quickly as the blood would be able to leave the wound freely. 

Thinking about it, he'd probably feel more flattered at the compliment if he wasn't as busy you know, trying to stop him from dying. Seems like the sword managed to avoid puncturing anything important. Or anything at all, lucky break.

Bro grabbed a needle and some thread he had lying on the table as he got to work quickly. Then after it could be cauterized but for now? " I need you to take a deep breathe man, I'm about to start sewing. You can either bite on a puppet or deal with it."

D winced a little from the pain, blood spurting out of the wound he's losing blood fast, his eye slight starts to go red from shock, he tries to get his breathing back under control. 

But D's lungs decided to go into full hyperventilation mode because too much blood was leaving his body in a short about of time, he looks in bro's Direction with a calm face " I am not biting a porn doll I have a idea where they've been, I rather go on a date first before I'm tasting your dick in my mouth" good keeping himself distracted helps the shock some.

Bro applies pressure to slow down the bleeding " Hey I sanitize those!.. Fine but I told you so." He starts sewing, careful hands making sure to work swiftly in closing the wound. That helped the blood a little. Now... 

" Is there an exit wound? I might need to see that too before I start the next part." Bro looks at him, hyperventilating and just the slightest bit pale. He hopes that too much blood hasn't been lost yet. Did that warrant the need for a blood donor? He only knew so much about this stuff.

D takes deep breaths trying to calm himself down, he ignores the sowing pain, honestly it wasn't that bad, but to be honest right now he can't feel much of anything. 

D looks at bro, he's kind sad that he looks like a mess right now " yes there is an exit wound and from pain in my back the sword just scraped my spine" his voice comes out a bit colder than he wanted it to, but it'll have to work.

" Great it JUST scraped it" Bro inhaled, shit, an exit wound would mean more sewing and need more time that he wasn't even sure they had. Sewing through the first cut, he glanced at the other to make sure he was okay. "

" Hey do you want me to start with the exit wound or cauterize the first one already?" Bro really wished they had gone to a hospital instead. Then he has to deal with this instead of dealing with puppets and Mr Handsome insults his puppets too. He'd probably fight the guy after he took him on a date or something. The guy seemed up to it.

D shrugs lazily or maybe tiredly who knows at this point " it's up to you, I'm not the porn director turn doctor here, I'm the movie director turned victim, whichever one is easier for you go with it."

D's eye sight it starting to fail him everything is going a bit blurry now as well shit"but not to sound like a rushing you here porn doctor, which ever way saves me more blood would be great, I have a small toddler to take care of at home, I would like not to die today."

Bro puts an arm around the other to hold him up " rude, anyway I'm going to start sewing the exit wound try to stay with me. Tell me about your kid if you want." He lifts up the back of the others suit to get to the wound and behind sewing it as well. His hands are soaked in blood but he's careful to make sure the needle doesn't slip. 

Bro can feel the other's movements and ragged breathing as he's holding him up. Almost done, now all that was left was... " Have a lighter on you?" That was all that was left. He'd need a lighter and some clothing for afterwards which he had a lot to spare. Usually used for puppets, it would have to do.

D pulls out a box of expensive cigarettes from his suit pocket, he opens the box pulls out a red gas lighter " my kid has the same shades and hair style as you, I left him at home in the middle of the ocean and I really do have to get back to him." 

D puts the box back in his pocket hands him the lighter "I already canceled all of my appointments for that little shit and I can't leave him in the middle of the ocean by himself that's too cruel, even for me"

Bro scoffs and smirks " sounds nice..." . He grabs the lighter and flicks it holding it close to the first wound. Staring at the skin begin to burn, something comes to mind " and familiar."

Bro hums as he pulls away the lighter and begins the next wound " my bro recently brought home this one guy dressed in a skirt to pass off as his girlfriend who I just realized looks an awful lot like me. Who else has orange eyes?" Being as perceptive as he was, he should have caught that. Although he couldn't confirm yet, He was sure that might be the case. Especially with a older Dave here.

D grips on to the tailcoat of his suit out of the pain of the burning skin that smells disgusting and out of anger of this man for even suggesting that, if he could move he's flip the porn doctor into the table and shove his own smuppets down his throat. 

D looks at dirk with a cold glare "my brother is a fucking 3 year old boy, why in the name of your fucked up god would your brother put him into a skirt and try to pass him off as his girlfriend, is he that sick of a person or is this just how the world that I am in works." His voice is cold with a sharp edge to it, bro remembers him using a similar tone whenever someone would royally pissed him off.

Bro almost laughed at loud, then thought about being in the other's place and about how pissed he would be. " No man, Jesus, he's like what... 15 years old? Why would you assume that?" He began on the second wound, finishing that one faster than the first.

Bro makes sure to keep and arm around the guy to hold him up as he reached his other arm for some fabric, which he tears into thinner strips with his teeth and wraps them around both wounds. Tying the edge into a simple knot, he grabs some hydrogen peroxide by the table and soaks the cloth to prevent infection. Come to think of it, why did he have it lying around? " I'm done, you'll have to rest though. Have anywhere you can stay?"

D quickly calms down, knowing everything is resolved, he hears bro's quest and then pauses, he honestly has to fucking idea where in hell he is, he just thinks to answer truthfully " no I don't , I randomly fell on your table out of nowhere and let's time I checked I was on top of a large building with a dead friend and bleeding out myself, so no I do now have anywhere to stay at this moment because I have no idea which way my home is" he swallows hard as he moves some to get off the table. 

D lands on his feet on the ground, thank God for pain tolerance if it wasn't for that he's be on the floor in pain, he had to be very careful to not reopen his wounds " also thank you very much for helping me out under the circumstances it's very much appreciated" he makes his voice sound genuinely thankful, just because he's a director does it mean you can put his own actors to shame with his own acting skills, to successfully move up in Hollywood you have to know what a fake every emotion under the blue moon and make it look genuine as fuck he was a professional at it.

Bro cleans his hands on some spare cloth and pinches his brows " You can stay at my place then, as I've deduced it being the best course of action, that shit ain't gonna heal by itself." He walks around the table and stands in front of the other, watching closely for any sign of difficulty walking. He could probably support the other if necessary.

Bro put a hand in front of the others chest, " I also really think that you shouldn't be walking at the moment. Trust me, I'm not going to take you to where I live and murder you if that's what you were wondering."

D shakes his head, no he really wasn't wondering that at all, he felt like he could trust this guy, which is a very unusually feeling from him although the man just did save his life so it makes since "thank you for the offer and I accept." 

D has a idea, he gives bro a playful smile "I know I shouldn't be walking right now, so how about you just carry me in your arms like they do in the movies, I don't mind being the Princess for a minute in this poorly made movie, although don't get used to it."

Bro carefully places a hand on the back of his shoulders and leaned down to swoop up his legs, successfully carrying him bridal style. " poorly made movie? It should at least get a 6/10 despite you not being a real princess. Comfy?" He made sure the other was secure before exiting the building and looking around for people who might be watching. Who knew what anyone might think and call the cops right? People usually minded their business, he would hope that remain the case. 

Bro opened the passenger seat of his car and placed the other into the seat. Patting his shoulder, he walked around and got in as well, starting the car. " We'll be there in a few minutes, you doing okay?"

D smiles some and looks at bro " this movie would get a 2/10 where I come from, but hey we probably have different tastes" he looks out the window of the car, where ever he is now he as the feeling he's the thing out of place here, he's been to almost everywhere but he couldn't really recognise the area he's in now. 

D remembers the other still had his lighter, and the last smoke he had was a real long time ago and even then he couldn't finish it, rose said it was a nasty habit and to put it out, he looks at him "hey dude do you mind giving me lighter back please, that's kinda my only one right now."

Bro shrugged as he kept his eyes on the road, glancing at the other and pulled out the lighter from his pocket and passed it to him. " look no offense but, if you wanted to take care of a toddler wouldn't the best course of action be not having bad habits like smoking?" He turned the corner in front of an apartment complex as the car slowed to a stop.

Bro turned to him " I'm not the best guardian alot of the time, but I try to care about health". He got out of the car and walked over to the passenger side and opened the door. Carefully picking the other again, he walked up to the building.

D shrugs he pockets the lighter "I prefer to smoke when I'm not at home, I would stop in total but old habits are hard to brake, rose was trying to nag me out of it for the last 3 years" he looked at his surroundings "you live in a apartment" That wasn't a question just more of him stating the obvious, well really what was he expecting when the other made puppet smut for a living. 

D sighs heavily trying to look her irradiated, although puppet smut wasn't much of a job, he shifts a little to the left and feels a dull ache in his now stitched wounds "heh" he makes a small smile " man you you fixed me up like a A grade war doctor, thanks again for this."

Bro shrugged, " Job is not that bad, it's a two bedroom apartment and has access to the roof" he entered the building and flashstepped into an elevator, avoiding anyone who might be loitering in the lobby. 

Bro chuckled and looked at D as he walked down the wood paves hallway. " Hey your welcome, maybe you could repay me by going out with me sometime?" He stopped in front of the door and reached for his keys, unlocking the door. Looks like Dave and his 'girlfriend' fell asleep.

D smiles at bro's offer, it isn't that bad of idea besides, he's pretty sure he technically the started flirting first "sure sounds like a wonderful idea, but I get to pick the place where going, from your job alone, your taste in food worries me" he gives bro a cocky smile.

D looks at dirk and Dave, ok so one guy in a skirt and the other on his lap that has a uncanny resemblance to him, but he would never fall asleep like that, there's so many ways how the other could kill you plus, this is really cheesy movie material, but kinda in a ironic way so he approves.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alice: this chapter totally hasn’t been sitting on my tablet waiting to be post *coughs* not at alllllllll.

*cough*

" so uh... now... what?" Dirk cringed at his own awkward voice as he was hyper aware of Dave's hand around his waist. In fact, he could even feel Dave's breathe on his neck as he leaned away a little, face redder than before.

 

For a minute Dave hugs dirk even closer, something I'm him egging him on to do... something. He doesn't even really know, he feels his heartbeat speeding up, his breath and his body temperature heating up along with his face almost matching his eyes. 

He stops himself from going any further, he quickly gets dirk off of him without hurting him, he gets up " my bro is gone, good job very convincing ms. Strudel" he laughs a bit trying to get his mind off of what just happened " I'm going to my room for a minute" he walks to his room trying to calm his heart down, what the hell was wrong with him?

Dave feels like hitting his head on the wall because really, WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH HIM!? He takes a deep breath and exhales then facepalms, how the fuck is he going to explain that to dirk, hell he can't even find a explanation for himself.

 

Dirk nods absently as his mind is racing from everything that just happened. He gives a dry laugh as the other goes to his room and proceeds to sit down and think. He'd never felt this nervous before and it was so strange, the only time he'd ever even felt close to it was when he was talking to Jake... he derails that train of thought because that would not end well and he isn't sure how to feel about it. Tying Lil Cal around his neck again, he walks around the kitchen, trying to get a feel for everything. He wonders if they have orange soda? That might help him calm down a bit. Opening the fridge, he is greeted with that and more as a bunch if swords fall out. 

" the fuck?" Dirk picks up a katana and studies it, before closing the fridge and keeping it. Might as well have a weapon in case anything happens. Walking over to Dave's room he knocks on the door tentatively and clears his throat " you okay man?".

 

Dave sighs for a quick second there he thought it I was his bro, but no it's just dirk the 2nd, damn he hopes he doesn't ask about what he just did, but right now he just seems worried about him, he doesn't know why but it makes him strangely happy.

He pushes it that emotion to the back of his mind " yeah, I'm fine thanks for asking you can come on if you want it's not locked" wait why did he just fucking say that ?

He laughs at himself a second as he remembers the nickname dirk the 2nd, not bad he could probably call this dirk that with out feeling very fucking weird although right now the only weird thing here is him.

 

Dirk pushed the door open and stared at Dave. Walking over to him he tilted his head and asked " What's up?". He didn't want the other to feel uncomfortable and if he could help he would. But if the other didn't want to talk, that was fine too, they just needed to get going and Dave was an important part. Not just because of his knowledge of this world but in the small amount of time, he already felt slightly attached. " You don't have to answer if you don't want to, I just wanted to make sure you're okay..." Dirk switched hands with the katana and put it on his back where it could stay on him with the puppet holding it, and took a sip of his orange soda and offered some to Dave by stretching out his hand with the soda.

 

Dave smiles genuinely, he never really tried the soda before so why not, he takes the can then takes a drink from it, it wasn't that bad, not as good at Apple juice though.

he looks at the katana on his back, of course a weapon well being extra careful wasn't a bad thing he supposed, anything could happen best to be ready, he hands the can back to dirk the 2nd, he laughs a little bit at the name.

 

Dirk takes the soda back and raises an eyebrow " what's so funny?" The other seemed to be really amused at what he didn't know, but it was nice to see him change into a good mood so quickly. Taking another sip of the soda, he thinks of what to do next. Well maybe head out and talk to this Jade person? He hoped she lived close. " Are we going to go visit Jade now?" He tilted his head and remembered something. 

Dirk bent over, he hoped the skirt wasn't too short, and reached for his shades, placing them back onto his face. Red text greeted him which he promptly ignored and turned to Dave again.

 

Dave blinks a bit surprised by dirks question although it was to be expected he didn't know much about jade or anything else here "jade lives on a island dude, we have no way to her, we can just only text her" he notices the others skirt was too short, he feels his face heat up a little bit and he just looks away.

He feels like it's kinda his fault why everything was so fucking awkward, he gets up and walks over to his computer to see of jade was online,he really needs something to distract him, which unironically, that something isn't dirks short skirt and orange stockings.

 

Dirk just frowned " oh" he walks over next to Dave and looks at the computer as well " is she in any way related to Jake? He lives on an island too". Chances were I'd there was one coincidence there was probably more. Now that would be interesting. 

" So... anything you wanna do meanwhile? We could strife or something. It seems we will be doing a lot of waiting any way" he turns to Dave and back at the computer. Who knew when 'Jade' would be online.

 

Dave raises an eyebrow, kinda confused on how her know jade's grandpa " yeah jake is her grandfather's name, how'd do you know him in your universe?" This is getting kinda interesting. 

" and about the offer of a strife, sure I'd like to see if I can any version of my bro, although I'm pretty sure I could kick your ass in the most ironic way possible" he gives dirk a cocky grin, now this is going to be fun.

Dave gets up and walks out of the room, the pain in his side a dull ache, for once, FOR ONCE he might be able to beat his bro, it's not exactly his bro, but his point still stands!

There was the pesterchum notification sound coming from Dave's computer, singling t hay someone has started pestering him. 

Dave couldn't hear the computer as he walked into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of apple juice, he's in a better mood.

 

Dirk scratched the back of head awkwardly " Jake was... IS a friend... yea." He turned around walked back a few steps before turning back to Dave. " Oh? You think you could beat me?" He smirked and raised his eyebrows, that would be pretty interesting. He was excited to fight Dave, especially since his alt self supposedly trained him.

Dirk followed Dave into the kitchen and leaned over the counter, watching the other. He briefly considered that if they were to strife he might need a change of clothes. Although if he fought in a skirt, he could win and rub it in his face even at the slight disadvantage, or throw Lil Cal. No. He was too precious to use against Dave but the thought was amusing.

 

Dave takes a drink of the apple juice loving the familiar taste as it slides down his throat, he sits the cup down in the counter, smiles at dirk the 2nd "dude I know I can beat you, unlike my bro you don't have the experience he has and it'd make you a hella easier to kick your ass into the floor." 

He grabs one of the shitty ass swords, " besides be both have a advantage and a disadvantage, you're in that fine looking skirt and restrictive yet adorable stockings and I'm hurt on my right side, while both us probably have a similar fight style to our bros but again less experience than them."

he replays that sentence in his head, wait he compliment the outfit, shit He hopes dirk doesn't notice for once neither of them were being awkward he hopes he didn't ruin that.

Dirk shrugged and smiled " I mean sure I guess you could try". He chuckles at the other's comment and kicks his leg up onto the counter to show it off. " Strider's make anything look good man, 'specially these legs" he gestures to the and holds his katana over his shoulders, posing ironically.

" So, should we strife in the kitchen or is there somewhere specific?" Dirk questioned. He wasn't very familiar with the building or what the usual routine might be. It would probably get really messy in the kitchen if they did or in the room. Where did Dave fight his bro all the time anyway?

Dave laughs some, with a genuine smile on his face " yeah dude your right, striders make anything looks amazing, and me and my bro usually strife in the roof of the building makes it a bit more exciting." 

Dave curiosity bubbles up in him for a moment " hey... dude what was your bro like if it's too hard to talk about you don't have to answer" he looks down to the side, he knows it still looks like he's making eye contact. 

Dirk walked over to what he assumed was the door to the staircase and stopped when he heard the other's question. Man that was a loaded one. Where did he even start talking about someone he never met?

" Well... as I've said before I never met him but he was... the cool. As in movie star kinda guy cool even though I've watched them and they are shit... had the same irony thing going but... he was brave? I think... he died fighting for earth and shit. He left stuff behind for me so I know he at least cared." Dirk turned around and looked at Dave. Nodding a bit to show that he was okay. He waved a hand towards the door " well?".

Dave nods, so he's basically self taught, this is going to be a joy, he walks over to dirk then opens up the door to walk on to the familiar roof, oh all the different times he got his ass kicked up here, finally he shall have one win.

Dave looks at dirk and smiles at him, he's still loving the outfit dirk the 2nd was in, he knows something has to be wrong with him to like staring at another guy so much but he didn't care.

Dirk walked up to the roof along with Dave and takes a look around. He's kind of awestruck, never really having seen so many buildings together like this. It was... nice. He turned to Dave and smiled, carefully getting in position across the roof from him. His katana clutched in his hand in front of him, ready to anticipate any movement and really see the other's skill. Once he calculated that he could figure out how to take him down.

" Ready when you are"

Dave looks at this dirk kinda surprised it's been a long time since he took the first swing, although he had a plan to keep this dirk on the edge of his seat, he just hope his side doesn't fuck this up. 

Dave runs at this dirk straightforward, it seems like a ordinary Rush attack but then he stick the sword in the ground in front of himself and lifts himself the the ground with on hand then spins the sword the ground, to swing both of his feet into the others head to disorient him once he lands back in the ground, he pulls the sword out and and slashes horizontal for the stomach. 

Dirk watched the other's movement's carefully and brought his arm up to his head to block the kick, impressive. There was a lot of strength behind it too. Judging but his next move, his style was straight forward and just a bit predictable. But the other quickly did another attack, a horizontal slash. Blocking wasn't an option with his lighter sword but maybe... he moved fast and took a step back, then flash stepped behind the other. 

Dirk had probably only a few seconds till the other turned around as he stuck his leg out to land a kick on the other's side. He wondered if the other had been taught to flash step already and how much of an advantage or disadvantage it would grant him, depending on if Dave was used to it already.

Just like Dave thought the bull shit flash stepped shit, just like his bro, he moves his sword to block his side, not wanting to injury his side anymore than it already was, it was extremely predictable to go after side since this dirk knew about it. 

Dave let's go of his sword for a moment and grabs the others legs and twists it hard to the left to make him lose him balance or twist his ankle, he grabs his sword again and jumps back hoping dirk feel on his own.

Dave looks at the other, and then a new feeling hit him like a sledgehammer a sharp thing of guilt, this isn't his fucking brother so we is he trying to fight like it was, and a thought came to mind that he could see on the other skirt as he we twisting the leg, he feels his face heat up , he takes a deep breath and sighs, da fuck is wrong with him. 

Dirk kicks up into the air and backflips away, his landing not as perfect as it could have been after his last attack. A tad bit wobbly even. Jesus was it breezy though, he felt the skirt might not have been such a bad choice in mobility. It just made everything really breezy. Especially after that backflip. He might have to this of another way to go at Dave, flash stepping was not going to give him the advantage he thought it would.

Dirk quickly ran at the other, Thinking to take advantage of his stance. Making it seem as if he was going for a slash to the face, he slid through Dave's legs and hit the back of his knee to knock him down or destabilize him.

Dave falls onto his knee, shit he got distracted! He moves his sword in to try to block him, he twists a little bit too far to the right for his side's liking and was hit with a mind numbing pain that shot through his body. 

Dave falls to the ground as his good leg buckled under him from the pain, the only actually thought going through his head that why did it have to hurt so fucking much!

Dirk turns and looks at the other fall to the ground, he winced at the impact and walks over to him. He kneels down next to his head, shaking his shoulder.

" Shit dude, are you okay?" Dirk was a bit worried with the other having already been injured. It looked painful. But they were still fighting... who cares. He reached out a hand to Dave to help him up.

Dave grabs dirks hand " yeah I'm fine my side just didn't liked how i moved there" he has a idea, well there fight pretty much ended but he will not be the only one on the ground. 

Dave pulls dirk on to the ground, not meaning to pull dirk on top of him, that was bad judgment on his part, this would look so gay from 3rd person view but now he's gotten used to it, his face heats up a little bit. 

Dirk's eyes widen as he's pulled down, he really wasn't expecting it. He holds out his arms in order to not crush or completely call on the other and he has to say this position is... interesting.

Dirk stares at Dave for a moment, the closeness makes his heart hammer and he should probably get up now or something. Did the other mean for him to fall on top? He wasn't sure. But... what now?

Dave's face visibly turns a little pink, he could feel the other's heart beat going like a drum "dude I sweet this was completely by accident..." his voice is quiet, his eyes are visible through his shades this close up. 

Dave is wanting to push dirk off of him, but one he didn't want to hurt the guy although he's the one most in pain and two he was kinda ironically curious on what the other would do. 

Dirk smiled lightly and rolled his eyes " mmhmm, sure. It was the strider charm wasn't it?" He decided to be kinda playful to lighten the mood. Although he should probably help the other up now, and do... anything else. Which anything else will hopefully make his heart stop hammering so hard. 

Dirk glances away from the other's eyes and his smile drops. " Wow... the view from here is, indescribable". He's not sure what to say anymore, so he stands up quietly, clearing his throat, " Um, if that bruise still hurts I can put some medical lotion".

Dave sits up, ignores the pain " dude I have been in a lot of gay situations today, I don't need that on my list. " he stands up wipes off his clothes " and no it wasn't the strider charm, that only works on chicks.... hopefully...." he said the last word quietly.

Dave coughs awkwardly tries not to think about John "yeah truly hopefully." He rubs his side, then looks at dirk " are you sure you don't need any pants dude, I'm slightly loving the skirt, but right now I can see your boxers."

Dirk pulled up the edges of the skirt and did a twirl " nope, I think it's grown on me, I might have to where it all the time." He posed again with his leg up in the air " It's easier to move in than pants too." 

Dirk stopped and looked down at the other " Do you by chance... have something against... being gay?" Now that he thought of it, despite the multitude of situations they had been in, Dave only mentioned it now. He really hoped not, and not just because he himself was gay but possible... OTHER reasons. Those reasons were not important of course.

Dave looks shocked yells at the top of his lungs" NO! I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH IT! " the birds fly away from the roof, he scared them all off, he takes a deep breath then exhales, trying to regain his cool, his side starts hurting him again from that outburst " no, I don't have a problem with it, just..." he's think really hard of how to finish this sentence, "just... I don't want to talk about it" his voice is just a whisper, he walks back inside. 

Dave goes into the kitchen and grabs the gallon of apple cider wanting something different and maybe to get a bit tipsy, his bro never noticed he bought the alcoholic kind. 

Dirk was a bit surprised at Dave's outburst, but still noticed the defensive tone that the other seemed to take on. He followed the other into the kitchen and stood precariously at the entrance, watching Dave for a moment, pouring himself some apple cider. He sits across from him, offering an empty cup, apple cider wasn't his favorite, but it was pretty good.

" Hey dude, I didn't mean to insinuate anything. But the reason I had asked is, well, I'm gay as fuck. I don't know if your bro had told you yet." Dirk looks to the side, searching for the words to use " you not wanting to talk about it is fine, and despite not knowing what it is. You should know it's okay". He looked back at Dave, studying his features intently. He wasn't the best at talking about this kind of thing but he hopes he did a good enough job.

Dave downs the apple cider and then pour a another glass "I know my bro is gay as fuck, it's really not that hard to tell that about him" he looks for the side then puts the apple cider back into the fridge and closes the door with a sigh "and it's only reasonable to think you're gay as well, in what ever world you come from, you two are very similar" his voice emphasizes the word similar. 

He takes a sip of his drink "I just have the most fucked up head in the world, and I'm going to try to explain this a bit more calmly, I don't have a problem with you being gay, unless I find you in a thong like I did my bro one night, that was mentally scarring" he shivers at the memory, wanting to forget it "me, I'm bisexual I could swing both ways honestly, and have the longest fucking list of kinks it's insane, so I have no right to judge" ... wait why did he just say that... oh god he suddenly realized he has something slightly alcoholic with no tolerance for it. 

Dirk listened as he served himself a glass of apple cider before the other put it away. He took a small sip and immediately put it back down, gross, the underlying taste of alcohol very present in the drink. Picking the cup, he pretended to take a sip as he spit the rest out. Never a really big fan of alcohol, especially with a friend like Roxy, he knew to avoid it. On the other hand, why Dave was drinking seemed to escape him. He looked up at Dave and furrowed his eyebrows.

" okay... I fail to see what this has to do with anything. You do you?" That was, different. Glancing at the glass in Dave's hand, Dirk wondered if he had drunk enough of the cider for it to affect him. Compared to what he knew, that meant that the other had a low tolerance. He should stop him. " I do not believe you should be drinking that anymore, it has alcohol in it correct?"

Dave puts the drink down, he has the hiccups, this was a really bad idea, like very very bad idea, the worst fucking idea that has ever come from his fucked up brain, and it'll only get worse "yeah it does, thought I'd try *hic* it one day..."

Dave was not very steady on his feet all of a sudden, guess he really couldn't take alcohol very well, he walks over to couch trying to stay on his feet in sits down, he lets out another hiccup, having regretted this idea still.

Dirk sighs " You could have at least waited until you were 21, I read that was the legal drinking age back then- now." His eyes follow Dave across the room, tilting his head in thought, he gets up and sits next to him. 

" I would suggest sleeping that off, we still had to talk to Jade again, remember?" Dirk wasn't sure if the Dave would be able to do much anymore. Best course of action would be to sleep it off, although he couldn't help but fume a tad bit at the fact that Dave decided to get drunk instead of thinking of the situation at hand. 

Dave for the most was done thinking for the day, he has a headache and his right side is throbbing from the pain and today for the most part is just a big fucking headache at least his bro won't be home for a couple more hours " yeah I remember dude " he lays his head on dirks lap trying to be careful of his side.

Dave actually liked this position a bit more, it was comfortable and the skirt was somewhat soft and he kinda smells like oranges strangely enough, he kinda hopes dirk doesn't tell him to move, because honestly this is way better than his own bed right now. 

Dirk throws his hands up as the other layed one his lap. Great. Now he wouldn't be able to move or do more productive actions with Dave there. He didn't really want to bother him and move either but, he sighed in resignation and put his hands down, one landing on Dave's head gently. Stroking his hair experimentally, He noted that not only did it look soft, but felt that way as well.

Equipped with this knowledge now, Dirk was at a loss of what to do next. So he continued to pet Dave's hair, unaccustomed to physical contact and it was surprising comforting to himself.

Faintly, Dirk noticed a message from the autoresponder.

TT: Shouldn't you be working on stuff? Loser.

TT: Shut up.

Dirk turned them off and stared at the wall for a while.

Dave smiles some as he started to fall asleep, having his hair petted like this reminded him when he was way smaller and his bro would let him sleep in the same bed when he had a nightmare.

Dave's breathing slowed down and his body relaxes, he had a soft smile on his face as he finally fell asleep with his head on dirks lap.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice: it's finally done !!

Dirk looked around the room absently, it seemed Dave had fallen asleep now. He noted how quiet it was, save for the other's soft breathing... and faintly a tapping sound?

Dirk looked around for the source of the noise, it was getting a bit louder and closer. This time, he could definitely pinpoint it. Judging by the slight echo there seemed to be a hallway just past the door. Was this an apartment? The low voice that seemed to follow the steps definitely sounded like him, Dirk though they would have more time before he got home. Guess he should of asked Dave. Taking off his glasses, he hid them and leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes, pretending to doze off.

Dave is still sleeping peacefully, it also looks like he's trying to nurse the bruise on his right side and he still has his shades on which isn't that unusually he forgets to take them off a lot.

Then Dirk hears a voice sounds extremely familiar to his brother's not like how Dave's it familiar with sound, no this voice has the same tone and fake emotion he's use during old interviews, with just a hint of it being genuine but it's hard to tell.

Dirk opens his eyes and looks up at the two that just entered and his breathe gets caught in his throat. Bro suddenly coming home with another Dave wasn't a coincidence. Except it couldn't be. He's dead. He knows he died, he lived almost all his life without him. But if he himself was in a strange new world. Could that mean-?

" ...Bro?" Dirk was positive his voice cracked, He hadn't even pitched it up in front of Dave's bro when he said that. So many thoughts and questions were running through his mind.

Bro watched 'Angel' look at D in his arms and wow was that a deep voice. Had she always? Bro? Who the hell? He glanced down at D and back at Angel again. Huh, if what he was thinking was true he might feel really stupid.

D looks very confused why the fuck did he say bro, he looks at bro trying to think of a answer honestly " ummm I thought you only had one brother, or is that guy in the skirt your twin, because the voice similar is there, although that one sounds sounds like he's still going through puberty."

D looks back at dirk, seriously though the skirt is cute and all but why is he wearing it, but to be fair the whole outfit goes together nicely if not a bit kinky in his opinion Because it's on a guy, with nice legs apparently.... he really needs to get his thoughts in order. this is getting a bit wrong

D moves a bit to the side, the blood soaked tails to his suit jacket fall out of bros arms and hang from the side, he straightens his shades trying to look a bit better than a car crash victim.

Dirk is at a loss for words, he was sure now, that was, that was definitely his voice but how could he confirm? " I have an inquiry... Are you Dave? Dave... Strider?" His heart hammered in his chest and the hand that had been petting Dave slowed down. Oh god he wanted so badly for it to be his bro but at the same time, what if it was?

Bro raises an eyebrow, holy shit, what was even happening. He decided to watch quietly for all of it to sort itself out. He rested his weight on his other leg as the seemed to adjust himself. It was amusing since he'd just barely survived from dying. Looking okay should be far from his main priorities. Who was he to judge?

" Your... supposed to be, not alive." Dirk almost face palmed his face, that was idiotic. Here he was in a skirt and trying to figure out what was going on like a dumbass. He kinda wanted to tear his hair out.

D raises a eyebrow at the skirted boy, this kid really needs to learn some proper grammar like really 'Your supposed to not be alive' that sounded very stupid the idea and how he worded it.

D sighs and looks at him " yes I'm Dave strider but at some point D became a Nickname for me although, Dave is easy enough to say, now why do you ask?" He keeps a natural strider poker face on his features but he is a bit confused on what's going on at the moment.

Dirk looked around the room and weighed his options. " Well this definitely seems like a conundrum, but this guy in my lap? He's also Dave strider, so through my skills of deduction, that guy carrying you is also Dirk Strider. Or at least some version of him" he paused.

Dave moves a bit in his sleep, Maybe it was because some said his name or the petting that made him relaxed slowed down, but he's now getting a bit restless and might wake up soon.

Dirk looked down at Dave and back up at D, he reached behind his back and brought out his own shades. Placing them on his face, he looked up again and bit his lip. God he hopes this didn't end badly. Was he too forward in trying to reveal himself?

Bro's eyebrows raised way above his shades, although he had the feeling that D was thick headed in the way that took him a long time to figure stuff out. How more obvious could 'Angel' be?

Bro resisted the urge to scratch his chin in thought, not Angel but Dirk? He'd have to ask. Though that would mean Dave was dating another him? That was kinda weird.

D suddenly breaks out laughing, oh god this kid must think he's the most fucking stupid person the the multiverse " alright so you're dirk, guess there's 2 new versions of my little bro that I now know, and one is sexy at fuck" he points as bro " and the other is a cross dresser that's dating a alternative version of his bro and knows how to work a skirt."

D sighs with a small smile " you know what I did know I was somewhere very different but I didn't think it was alternative Continuum Shift different, nice to know, I'd blame that Grandma English for this honestly but she was in her deathbed last time I saw her." He looks up at bro " can you put me down now please ?"

Dirk was many things. Brilliant, and most of the time emotionless. The rare times he did feel strong emotions, it was barely noticeable on his face unless you really knew how to tell. Or if he was showing it purposefully. At the moment though all he can recall feeling is the sensation as if he was about to explode. Dirk Strider was beyond pissed.

" You know what?" Dirk's voice was firm yet monotone at the same time. He grabs Dave's head and placed it carefully on the couch as he got up and turned to D. He lifted his shades onto his hair and glared at him " Fuck. You. You asshole, you THINK it's okay to leave a toddler on his own to grow up in the middle of the fucking ocean?! Fuck you bro. You just-" he turned around and flashstepped to the roof. He felt he acted slightly immature but his actions were justified.

Bro put down D gently and put his arm on his back to make sure he didn't lose his balance as he stood up. Flashstep huh? That was a pretty advanced skill, he glanced at D and walked over to the couch to check on Dave. He smiled at his sleeping face and ruffles his hair, walking to the kitchen.

D for a good long moment, really had no idea what the fuck is going on at this point, but he had a good idea about one thing, that dirk was his little bro, and he left him to fend for himself, the one thing he swore never to do to the kid, because he wanted him to grow up with someone near him to take care of him at the small age.

D started to walk to the roof and after a bit of searching he found his way up there, a small hint if guilt eating away at the back of his mind, feeling much emotion at all is a rare occasion, why is it people with the name dirk strider do this to him.

D opened up the door of the roof and looked out at the area, nice space and he kinda loved the birds that are hanging around the area, he looks around for dirk.

 

* * *

 

Dirk sat on the edge of the roof, legs dangling and hair moving slightly from the wind. He watched the cars down below, entranced and thinking. He heard the door to the roof click open and close but he didn't turn around to see who it was. He knew. Wiping his eyes, he spared a glance to the side and continued to watch everything quietly.

D walks over to dirk, and stands a few feet behind him "hey...." for once words are failing him, he has to keep his head in gear, why did I have to be emotional shit, is only weakness.

D swallows hard "dirk, I never meant to leave you there, I truly didn't, it's the only thing I swore I wouldn't let happen and it did anyways and i" he takes a deep breath "I apologize dirk, I was planning to come home, I left those videos as a just in case is didn't."

D takes a few steps forward "I understand that your mad for me leaving, but it wasn't in my control, I understand your pissed that I left you in the middle of the ocean and that was a huge mistake."

Dirk turned away from him " Yea, I know... I have watched them all..." he looked at the shades resting in his lap as he fidgeted with the circuitry.

Dirk turned to D, " If I wasn't as intelligent as I was, as a toddler I most likely wouldn't have survived at such a young age. But that's not the point. This isn't some kind of comedy movie and there is no excuse in acting like an ass." He felt as if he said to much. In terms of just dragging the conversation on, he was sure he made his point.

D sits next to dirk, he let's his legs dangle over the edge, hoping he doesn't lose a shoe, he looks at the dirk's shades and sighs, then looks at dirk " well little bro it seems like all striders have one or two qualities that are not the best seems like mine is being a asshole or a huge emotionless prick" he thought adding that in there would make dirk laugh some.

D ruffles dirk's hair, he makes a small smile " I'm happy that you're not hurt least, and seem to be mentally stable so your a lot better off then me right now little bro."

Dirk does chuckle " Hey being an emotionless prick is my thing" he thinks about the times his friends had been upset at him for that reason. Patting his hair down, he looked towards the horizon. " Look I've been excited to one day meet you, here we are, But I think... It's going to take me a while to completely forgive you"

Dirk feels that's an adequate response. And it's true, despite the fact that he has been waiting to meet HIM, He feels some resentment for the lack of guardian in his life. Meeting Dave wasn't quite the same either, he wasn't older and matured like D. He was just... Dave.

D sighs and looks out to the Horizon trying to see what dirk is seeing " I completely understand little bro, i truly didn't want that to happen to you, I wanted you to have a much better start then I did he'll I had this whole complicated thing for your 10th birthday that is now wasted" he remembers those plans well, he made them last week. " I missed your while growing up progress because bull shit happened and." He sighs "i wanted to be the best Guardian for my little bro and just drown you in all the irony the world had to offer" God he must sound like a idiot right now and that's not how he wanted to come off to his bro.

Dirk nodded as he listened intently to D. He looked at him and placed a hand on his arm " Yea I understand what you're trying to say.... hey did you ever make any plans for my 16th? You could buy me a 'ironic' real life pony." He tried a hand at lightening the mood. He could tell the other seemed to really be trying, he had to give him credit for that.

Dirk shrugged and rested his hands on his lap " besides, your sweet bro and hella jeff movie was enough shitty irony for a lifetime." Sometimes he finds it hard to believe that it even IS a movie. He'd read the comic that it was based, it's pretty bad. Dirk wonders faintly if Dave has ever made something like that yet. Maybe he could stop him.

D's face goes completely neutral "in not getting you a pony, your gay enough as it is little bro, I can only imagine what your friend is going through, what was is name again, I'm sure it was jade's grandson." He think hard about it. D finally came up with the name "it was jake, Jake English, when you were first learning how to speak you said, you'd marry the small little kid, seriously little bro, jade shipped it hard." 

Dirk frowns, dangit, that's one sweet pony that could have been. He wondered if Dave's bro would be up for it. As D continued, Dirk winced at the mention of Jake " Yea... that didn't really work out, it seems like we just weren't compatible. He was the only guy i'd ever known anyways so it wasn't quite fair."

Dirk sighed, " I even argued with Jane because of it, I was too clingy. It was a complete train wreck." He was glad he was able to make up with them in the end. Uptill now he hadn't really had feelings for anyone else, unless he considered... well.

D looks dirk and lays his head "it'll be ok bro, not to sound cheesy or anything, but everyone has their perfect match out there, it's just the matter of finding them is the hard part, believe it or not I had a crush on roxy's mom for a bit but that didn't work out either."

D makes a sympathetic smile " I got completely rejected, the strider charm doesn't always work, and when it does it's a pain in the ass to keep the relationship going, seems like the only people we can try to connect with is a another strider." 

Dirk raises his eyebrow at that, Dave and Roxy's mom? He can't quite imagine it but he supposed that made sense. It made him feel slightly relieved that he wasn't the only one with bad luck when it came to relationships. " What do you mean by another Strider?"

Dirk understood what that meant to himself, really, but what did D mean with that? His face grew warm as he remembered earlier when he had been on the other's lap.

D looks at his brother and sees he's blushing, he was meaning sibling relationships but he got a very mischievous idea Because he make a simple guess by what bro said earlier one what this one was thinking about.

D looks at dirk and keeps a emotionless face " I'm meaning isn't it much easier to relate to the the other me then it was with jake?" He tilts his head to the side questionably "doesn't he make your stomachs flip over and your face warm by some very simply thoughts."

Dirk wants to put his shades on right now but it might look suspicious. Shit. D figured something out, keeping his eyes steady on the horizon, he brings up a leg and rests his head on it.   
  
Dirk shrugs " I suppose... that relating to him is easier." He glances quickly at D " What exactly are you trying to imply there bro?" He kept himself mildy defensive. It was all true, he kept shrugging it off but it wasn't a big deal was it?

D gives his brother a soft smile "I'm not trying to imply anything little bro, I'm just saying you wouldn't have dress in those clothes if you didn't like other me at all" he jumps up on to his feet, ignore all of the alarming abouts of pain his body is giving him.   
  
D walks away from the edge " also little bro, your only clingy if some hasn't giving you all the attention you wanted, and currently in the skirt I'm sure other me is giving you all or at least most of his attention" he gives dirk a cocky smile and walks down stairs.   


Dirk crosses his arms, " In actuality I was the one to suggest dressing up in a disguise to avoid his brother, he is the one who pulled out the skirt. I admit it's hella comfy though. That's it." He stands up as well, the sun was still high in the air and the atmosphere so descriptively Texas.  
  
Dirk placed his shades on his face and kept his hand near his face in order to cover it as he blushed. Attention... huh. Now that he thought about it, it did seem to be the case in most of the 'awkward' scenarios. In retrospect, he didn't mind the attention one bit but if that was the case and his brother WAS right. Wouldn't having a somewhat romantic or sexual relationship be weird to have with Dave? He'd need to think about it for while. For now, he followed after D Dirk down the stairs.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alice: yay another chapter happened!  
> Marry Christmas everyone!

Dirk was many things. Brilliant, and most of the time emotionless. The rare times he did feel strong emotions, it was barely noticeable on his face unless you really knew how to tell. Or if he was showing it purposefully. At the moment though all he can recall feeling is the sensation as if he was about to explode. Dirk Strider was beyond pissed.

" You know what?" Dirk's voice was firm yet monotone at the same time. He grabs Dave's head and placed it carefully on the couch as he got up and turned to D. He lifted his shades onto his hair and glared at him " Fuck. You. You asshole, you THINK it's okay to leave a toddler on his own to grow up in the middle of the fucking ocean?! Fuck you bro. You just-" he turned around and flashstepped to the roof. He felt he acted slightly immature but his actions were justified.

Bro put down D gently and put his arm on his back to make sure he didn't lose his balance as he stood up. Flashstep huh? That was a pretty advanced skill, he glanced at D and walked over to the couch to check on Dave. He smiled at his sleeping face and ruffles his hair, walking to the kitchen.

D for a good long moment, really had no idea what the fuck is going on at this point, but he had a good idea about one thing, that dirk was his little bro, and he left him to fend for himself, the one thing he swore never to do to the kid, because he wanted him to grow up with someone near him to take care of him at the small age.

D started to walk to the roof and after a bit of searching he found his way up there, a small hint if guilt eating away at the back of his mind, feeling much emotion at all is a rare occasion, why is it people with the name dirk strider do this to him.

D opened up the door of the roof and looked out at the area, nice space and he kinda loved the birds that are hanging around the area, he looks around for dirk.

* * *

 Dave wakes up with a slight yawn on the couch, he feels his hair is out of place and quickly finger combs it back, he looks around and stops his bro "yo, your home early" currently the other dirk is slipping his mind.

Bro looks down at Dave and sits down, ruffling his hair again " yea, this guy kinda appeared out of nowhere on the verge of death so" he shrugged and sat down.  
  
Bro turned to Dave " What have you been up to with your little 'girlfriend' by the way?" He poked at him. Dave seemed to have slept through the whole ordeal a few seconds earlier. He wondered if he could try getting information about what was going on.

 Dave looks to the side, he's still a bit sleepy " not much bro" he sounds disappointed, he takes off his shades and rubs his eyes, he's still tired and having a bit of a hangover.  
  
Dave looks at bro, his bright red eyes having a look of regrets and sadness to them, he gets up and walks over to his brother and gives him a hug " thanks for trying to be a good bro" well this is unusual for him.

Bro smiled, " No problem little man" he pats Dave on the back and looks at some takeout menus stuck onto the fridge. " You hungry?" He scanned the names of places and looked around for Lil Cal. Still out of sight.  
  
Bro picked up a glass cup from the table and stared at it. Huh, apple juice didn't usually look like this did it? He took a sip and immediately put it back down. " Dave? Why does this taste like alcohol and spit?" The explanation would be interesting.

Dave nods to the idea of food, which sounds great then he freezes when he asked about the drink "uhmmm..." he had to come up with something quick "I don't know bro, maybe it belongs to the other you that's in a skirt" oh god he never thought he'd say that in his life.  
  
Dave walks over to the living room trying to space himself from his bro, hoping his bro didn't ask to many questions, then he thought of the other dirk and hope he's doing ok up there with his own bro, all of this is probably more hard for dirk then it was for him.

Bro frowned, " Dave, you're the only one who likes apple juice stuff." He walked past the fridge and plucked a chinese takeout from it on his way to his phone. He thought about ordering for four and figured that he might as well. Who knew when they would be leaving, or he might have an explanation for this.  
  
" Hey dude, do you know where D and 'Angel' came from?" Bro followed after Dave into the living room with a menu in hand and a phone in the other.

Dave sighs heavily " I know where angel came from but I don't know how D got here" he thought if something "bro, is D your next one night stand or something? If so that's extremely fucking weird."  
  
Dave walks back into the kitchen and pours out the apple cider never again, never for as long as I live again, that sucked horribly, he pours himself a normal glass of apple juice.

 Bro started dialing the number on the phone as he skimmed through the menu. Will the other two like the same stuff? " Oh really? Want to let me know?" So Dave knew, they could work on figuring how the other got here as well.  
  
Turning to Dave, Bro shrugged " I was planning to take him out on a date, does that count?" He didn't really think that D was well enough for such and... active activity as such, therefore a one night stand wouldn't really be possible. One can dream though.

Dave sighs "  jade built a intradimensional machine to try to go on a dimensional Adventure and somehow made angel pop in my room when I was only in my pants and nothing else."   
  
Dave frowns " i thought I was going to die from embarrassment I really did hate that I basically met her without my shades on which is a no in my book."

Bro took off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair, He had put the menu on his lap. " Sure that makes things easier." He called and placed the order before he forgot, 10 minutes. Great.  
  
Bro scratched his chin " You guys have any plans? Or Jade? Why are we still referring to her as Angel?" That was an excellent question. Despite him already having figured out what happened, he still referred to his other self as Angel. It would be weird say Dirk wouldn't it?   
  
Dave shivers "yeah I'm still trying to get used other there being more then one dirk, but yeah can we just keep calling him angel, he looks like on-" he starts fake coughing to end the sentence, where in the actual fuck did that one come from.   
  
Dave stops fake coughing and looks at his bro " hey bro..." he's trying to find a way to put this so it's not weird " I think I have a major problem or at least a few small ones..."

Bro smirked, something told him he knew what Dave was going to say. Was it kinda weird? Hell yea, Striders don't judge. 'Sides, he was on the same boat, or at least he would assume so. He saw Dave getting handsy earlier and the question on whether or not it was a ruse nagged at him.   
  
Bro shook himself out of it and hummed " What kind of problems?" He wasn't that worried, he could deal with the police no problem. Or was it still on the other topic? " Does it have to do with 'Angel'?" The opportunity to tease Dave was there.   
  
Dave frowns " kinda sorta bro...." he takes a deep breath he could do this, he sudden blurts out " why do I have a guys in skirt fetish!? Like seriously the skirt and that whole outfit he's wearing has seen some fucked up shirt bro!" He's starts to lose his cool some " why do you think I have all that shit,  the outfit, the lipstick, even two pairs of matching panties"   
  
Dave knows there's something very fucked up with him extremely fucked up with him for even mention this to his slightly abusive brother, he had no one else to talk to out This.   
  
Bro was glad that at the moment, he wasn't drinking liquid of any kind. He was 99.9% sure if he had been doing so, it would have been spit out violently. Did brothers usually talk about this? What should he say? Good job?? " That's... uhhh" He clears his throat " Well, some people just have different likes is all."   
  
Bro shakes his head and coughs " how'd you buy all that without me noticing anyway-?" He momentarily considers throwing a puppet at Dave. He wondered if D had the same fetish? He'd be willing to dress in a skirt for HIM.

Dave looks at his bro slightly confused then he answers his question " I got rose to buy it then I took it all home with me after that one time a spent the night and most of the time you ever noticed it i just said rose put some of her shit in my bag and I forgot about it."   
  
Dave looks at the ground feeling this conversation is a little bit awkward, he couldn't think of anything else bad happening then this, at least his bro isn't asking to much questions because God only knows how much worse the situation would get for him if that was the case.   
  
Bro rubbed his eye under his shade " Well that explains that" he glanced at the clock. " Just practice safe sex or whatever, do kids do that these days? Uhh never mind." He looked around for a way to slowly escape without notice. That was a horrible pep talk.   
  
Bro snapped his neck to the door when he heard the doorbell, perfect. He brought out his wallet and grabbed a few bills, getting up and sauntering to the door. Man that smelled good. Formalities aside, the delivery guy came often so small talk wasn't really necessary. " Food's here."


End file.
